News From The Cheese Caves

I just received an image of a cheese plate served at an upscale NYC restaurant. The image clearly showed the strongest cheese on the left, the mildest in the middle, and the second strongest (or mildest) on the right. The sender said the waiter informed her the order the cheeses be tasted was unimportant. Alors! If you simply tasted these cheeses from left to right, the strong cheese would leave a much bigger “finish” on the palate than the second one. The subtle nuances in the middle cheese would be missed or overwhelmed. The last cheese might be able to make a final stand, but it would be better appreciated if it had been tasted before the strongest cheese.

Left to right need not be the order one would sample these three, but when the guest suspected something was amiss she asked for the recommended order. To receive the dismissive reply that it did not matter would not fool the true cheese lover. Apparently this server was not in our camp.

We have stressed the importance of progression since the first cheese plate was served at Picholine restaurant nearly twenty years ago. It was obvious that the different cheeses had varying levels of intensity; some had much larger organoleptic profiles than others. The more persistent cheeses made themselves known rather quickly. The blue cheeses lingered longer on the palate than just about every other cheese type. The aged goudas and cheddars had their heft, the aged alpine cheeses had their depth, while most of the pressed sheep milk cheeses seemed to be a little milder, though not as mild as the bloomy rind cheeses. The younger goat milk cheeses had their first impressions but those impressions were overshadowed by the brie-type cow cheeses or the pressed sheep cheeses, or most any other cheese type.

This all may sound a little confusing at first; so many cheeses look the same. Yet it does not take long to recognize larger flavors in different cheese types. As an example in other food types (ones with which that server may be more enamored) you would easily recognize the subtlety of a poached fillet of trout compared to a grilled sirloin of beef. Is that progression not important?

I cannot blame the server for giving the wrong advice, but to be a bit insouciant about it? The first fault lies with the restaurant management for not making sure the servers know appropriate tableside manner. Second: if the restaurant manager or chef does not inform the servers that the order cheeses are tasted does actually matter, this is another concern. The restaurant should not be serving cheese if the management does not know that the order matters.

It may not be a particularly egregious error to eat cheeses out of order but there are logical reasons why you should follow a progression. I recall enumerating my recommended order to Picholine guests who would ignore the advice and dive into the blues anyway. Likely, their palates were obliterated by the dominance of the blues; after tasting one of those, the tastebuds are never quite the same, and are likely unable to distinguish the difference between a Pecorino and a Parmigiano. The idea of tasting cheeses in an order of strength could be one reason why many chefs have espoused the idea of serving the one “perfect” cheese: to avoid confusion or to prevent second-guessing by the guests. Other chefs have a hard time allowing the cheeses to “speak-for-themselves” and resort to stirring multiple ingredients into the cheeses; the original cheese flavors become muddled.

Not to belabor the point, yet I believe that eating cheese in a progression from mild to strong is important. This is especially true if the person tasting the cheeses is not familiar with them. Some of the basic “rules” of progression include the following:

The younger cheeses are generally milder than the older ones, though not always.

The softer cheeses are usually milder than the harder cheeses, though not always.

The blues should be saved for last.

When tasting new cheeses it is helpful to mix up the textures, the animal types, the rinds, or simply the provenances. (This helps you better appreciate the differing aromas and flavors.)

The cheeses made with pasteurized milk are milder that the ones made with raw milk, if the cheeses are otherwise identical.

The saltier cheeses generally follow the less salty ones.

Three otherwise identical cheeses: one made with goat milk, one from sheep milk, and one from cow milk; this would be my recommended order for tasting the three: goat, sheep, and cow.

I recall observing a colleague take this progression order a little too far. The first cheese in his grouping was a goat cheese with a generous coating of blue mold on the outside. It was not a blue-veined cheese but that moldy exterior made it a more assertive cheese than all the others on the plate.

If you are unsure about the progression of the cheeses you will be serving you might check the cheeses’ positions on the CheeseClock™. The same way we constructed our first cheese plates at Picholine: the milder cheeses were at the six o’clock position, the cheeses becoming increasingly stronger as you proceeded clockwise around the plate. You may want to taste the cheeses before your event, though it is good to keep in mind that cheeses go through various stages.

Max McCalman

The idea of entertaining with cheese may sound a little funny when you first hear of it: as in spending some December evenings with your favorite cheese, or making cheese the party entertainment itself. There is a way of making either of these ideas work but I know of no easier way to entertain than by serving up a little selection of fine cheeses. No cooking required, minimal mess to clean up, and you can have it delivered directly to your door from one source – www.artisanalcheese.com. It is almost too easy!

I find that people often feel compelled to supplement their party food options with other items: charcuterie, shrimp cocktails, guacamole, etc. Yet the cheeses end up being the “hit” of the party, the food that people remember. The questions arise: if cheese is going to be the main food, how much will I need, how many cheese types, and what accompaniments will work best?

If cheese is the main food you will be serving I recommend that you have at least three varieties, though a larger grouping will make for a more stimulating food affair. Mixing up the milk types: cow, goat, sheep, and mixed milk cheese, is one of the first recommendations I make. Mixing up the textures of the cheeses is helpful (more on that below) because some people prefer softer cheeses while others prefer the harder varieties. Mixing up the rind types opens up wider distinctions among cheeses: bloomy rinds, wash rinds, waxed rinds, etc. Having one blue cheese is recommended (at parties especially) because they can put that little “exclamation point” on the palate, and because the blue cheese lovers are a loyal group. Mixing up the provenances invites more discussion. For example, having one cheese from Spain may send a conversation in one direction, while having another from Vermont will bring up other topics.

For a party intended to last at least three hours I recommend that you have the equivalent of six ounces per person, no less, in total of the various types. If you plan on serving three cheeses then you should have about 2 ounces of each, per person. For the softer cheeses this weight should be increased a little; people tend to eat more of the softer cheeses because they have a higher water content. This is one reason I recommend that you devote more of your cheese purchasing dollars to the firmer cheeses, the harder the cheese is the sooner your guests will be sated. Said another way, a little hard cheese goes a long way. If you end up with scraps of hard cheeses they are much easier to wrap up and save for another occasion than a soft cheese that is oozing out of its rind. Saving those softer runnier cheeses is like putting toothpaste back into its tube.

The harder cheeses are usually more successful pairing partners for beers and wines (and other beverages) than the softer ones. If you are entertaining a large group, you will not want to end up with a lot of cheese waste, nor do you want to end up with flawed marriages between your beverage offerings and your cheeses.

We have noticed that a simple beverage can be “elevated” by fine cheeses. You may want to purchase a festive and relatively inexpensive wine such as a Gamay (as in Beaujolais). With these wines you can find many nice matches with various styles of cheeses. The cheeses can make a decent Beaujolais taste like a Grand Cru Burgundy, or almost. If you choose to open up your cellar and bring out your First Growth Bordeaux there is a good chance that you will “diminish” the expanse of the wine; you may even harm the wine with obstreperous cheeses.

As for the other accompaniments, the crisp baguette is nice but it is not a must. Neutral flavored crackers work well. Some people just cannot resist the urge to spread their cheese on a cracker, or lay a slice of a hard cheese on a piece of bread. My inclination is to serve other foods that deliver some of the few nutrients that cheese does not: vitamin C and fiber. Some high-fiber vitamin C-rich fruit and some fiber-rich nuts (preferably unsalted on my table) make excellent accompaniments. A good honey makes another delicious and nutritious accompaniment to most cheeses.

The default grapes are nice too, though I prefer to have my grape juice fermented into wine.

Bottom line: cheese, bread, and wine, or beer; it is easy to get it right, and surprisingly difficult to get it wrong.

Max McCalman

We often receive requests for the strongest cheese available. At this time that honor goes to a mixed-milk Cabrales. By far and away the most assertive cheese in our caves and a hard act to follow, this raw-milk, naturally-bluing-blue is to Spain, what Stilton is to England, what Roquefort is to France, what Gorgonzola is to Italy. These are all strong flavored cheeses but the latter three cheeses command a far greater market share, largely because they are much more “approachable.”

The Cabrales is the most artisanal in the mix not only because it is has limited production, unlike the others it acquires its blue mold spontaneously, and varies from one season to another. When produced in spring and summer (when the ones now in our caves were crafted) the mix of all three milks is included: cow, goat and sheep. Later in the year when the ewes dry off the mix switches to goat and cow milk only, then in the winter only cow milk is used. The milk that is used for Cabrales production in the winter months is provided by cows with a diet limited to hay and grains; in other words: they are not left out in the cold grazing on limited vegetation. As one would expect, the cheeses produced with all three milks when the vegetation is more lush yields a cheese with a much bigger flavor profile. Not to take anything away from the winter cheeses; they are “nicer.”

Perhaps that should be one’s first Cabrales experience – the “nicer” one, though no wallflower whatsoever.

People often want to believe that there will be a suitable wine partner for any old cheese that is before them. This one has just a few: a viscous, high-quality Pedro Ximenez sherry from the opposite side of Spain (the deep south); a superior aged Madeira; or an aged Sauternes. We also noticed that a fruit-forward new world Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon worked okay. Interestingly, Tawny or vintage ports do not measure up, though they will present a valiant effort. The region where Cabrales is produced is not known for its wine production; this is a very recent agricultural enterprise. The beverage for which Asturias is known is cider. Apples thrive well in the region so the ciders have always been the locals’ favorite Cabrales partner.

I would recommend that you have one of the above beverages close at hand when you try a Cabrales the first time. The battleship gray color and fetid aroma should suggest an outsized gastronomic experience is on the way. A very small nibble is more than sufficient to get the idea across. The flavors ignite every taste bud, though not to an alarming level. Instead the flavor is more persistent than alarming. Water won’t help. After a few minutes the finish is actually rather pleasant, the flavor is still present but much more graceful, even a little sweet.

For those that want the strongest cheese in our caves, the Cabrales is the one. If you are choosing it only to impress others with your bravery you are missing the point. This cheese is one of the last of its kind; it should be respected for its unique qualities, its history, and its pedigree, as well as its above-average nutritional value. Just a little dab will do you though. If it is still too much to enjoy on its own, or accompanied by cider or one of the wines recommended above, you might try incorporating it into a sauce for a steak, or into a dressing for a salad. However you have it I am certain that it will offer a memorable experience.

Max McCalman

As we proceed into the colder season the stresses can mount, aggravated by holiday demands, less sun, more family visits, the end of semesters, the creeping feeling that we did not meet all our goals or resolutions, etc. It is great to know that we have cheese available, which can make it a little easier to handle it all. Cheese has a way of making it all okay: helping us deal with stress and pain, satisfying and/or reducing our appetites, warding off depression, minimizing anxiety and hypertension, reducing fatigue and insomnia, At this time of year there is a broad range of cheese types from which you can choose and I recommend that you mix them up, have several, and don’t worry about over-eating it. It simply does not happen, partly because cheese is particularly satisfying; one will reach satiety long before they need to worry about having too much.

If we have our cheese preferences, so be it. Yet no two cheeses are created equal. To get the best cheese experiences, including the stress-reducing capacities that are found in many of its components, I advise trying different types: not just cow, not just soft cheeses, not only stinky; because all of them have different levels of those important nutrients, as well as their individual aesthetics.

Those points about nutritional values are the focus of our Cheese & Wine 201 class. Cheese offers near-complete nutrition; those nutrients are better assimilated with the consumption of moderate amounts of wine, or beer. The operative word here is “moderate.” The first glass is for digestion, the second is for romance, and the third is on the border between having a good night’s sleep or one that is not so good.

When we were in the process of assigning a CheeseClock™ position to the Mountaintop Bleu we anticipated a stronger placement, the Mountaintop Bleu being a “bleu” cheese. Yet we could not deny that this lovely cheese was actually just fine fitting in the milder quadrant, a first, a blue cheese in the Mild category! This Maryland cheese has a gentle balanced flavor with just a touch of salt, not too acid, with a thin rind, a soft clay texture, and gentle bluing.

Part of the success of this cheese as a goat milk blue, and one that can fit into the Mild quadrant, is that it is made with pasteurized goat milk. We can only dream of what it might taste like if it were crafted from raw milk! That heat treatment might minimize some of the challenging characteristics in raw goat milk, for which there are few internal molded blues, raw or pasteurized. Another factor is that the cheese is fairly young; the flavors have not had a chance to intensify. Instead of a pierced blue cheese, the Mountaintop Bleu has the mold added to the curd so that within a few days the blue mold starts to develop in the paste. If the cheese were aerated by piercing the mold would develop faster. Because the rind has a light dusting of ash and a little beneficial bloomy mold the cheese has less air entering it to promote the bluing.

This cheese is not particularly salty for a blue. Most blues require a little extra salt to thwart competing enzymes. Because the Mountaintop Bleu has less salt you might expect that it would become bluer quickly. Again, it is a fairly young cheese, and the other surface molds, as well as the fact that the cheese is not pierced, helps to keep the blue mold in check so that it does not overwhelm the flavor of the fresh goat milk.

We are especially pleased to have another marvelous cheese such as the Mountaintop Bleu in our caves now, and out first blue in the Mild section!

Fall has arrived and the fondue smells great!

As the weather turns chillier the idea of fondue seems better than a few months ago.

When it was already hot outside, the idea of hot fondue may not have seemed so appealing, though I can recall seeing a crock of fondue on nearly every table in August at the Artisanal Bistro! Part of the attraction to fondue is probably because it is so primordial, like a baby having its first food at body temperature milk. Warming up cheese releases more of those aromatic compounds which are so endearing as well as delicious on the palate.

At this time we have several cheese candidates for delicious fondues, not only the Alpine types but also cheddars, pressed sheep milk cheeses, even blues. The classic fondues call for the aged pressed cow milk cheeses such as Gruyère, Comté, Tarentaise and Fontina d’Aosta or Vacherin Fribourgeois (both of which claim to be the original fondue cheese). The cheeses that work well for fondues also work pretty well for making raclettes and vice versa, such as Val Bagner or Raclette itself. All of these cheeses are so tasty on their own that I see little reason to go to the trouble melting them down; just enjoy them at room temperature.

Yet again, fondues and raclettes are very nice, especially as the weather turns colder. Part of their desirability is the opioid peptides cheese contains, peptides that help us deal with stress and pain (as in the stresses and pains of cold weather).

Fondue is fairly simple to make, and it requires just a few ingredients. We have a fondue mix ready to go; all you need is a little white wine and a crisp baguette. The mix is shredded and mixed, ready to melt down in the wine, and then enjoy. One of our more popular hands-on classes is Fondue. In this class you learn how to make different amazing fondues that are great for entertaining.

The fondue has regained an appreciation in this country after it was nearly forgotten. It could have become extinct due to the inferior quality of many of the cheeses we had available. No wonder they were only so popular! Now we have superior fondue and raclette cheese types that are being crafted here in the U.S., as well as access to many inimitable old world styles.

For more information about Artisanal Cheese, Fondue or Max McCalman, please visit our website.

An article written by a cheese guy would uncover more facets of the mysteries of affinage than one written by someone outside the industry. The recent article in the NY Times made for interesting reading: the pitting of the affinage naysayers and those who are strong proponents of the practice(s). The article concluded with evidence the cheeses that were given extra care were superior to those that had not; one of the cheeses in the latter group was inedible. Whether it was admitted or not there are plenty of things that happen to cheese once it is formed; some of those things are beneficial while many others can be seriously detrimental. Simple aging involves a number of processes that occur on their own, yet careful monitoring of these processes is critical.

An immature cheese has less character than a mature cheese. To bring that young cheese to where it reaches its optimal level of ripeness includes several skill sets, several beyond what the cheese maker generally provides.

While some established cheese mongers claim their cheese-handling task is simple: to avoid screwing up a good cheese, this alone involves far more than temperature and humidity-controlled storage. It is no wonder that many people don’t like cheese. Lazy and imprecise cheese handling (or simple neglect) can yield a lame gustatory experience.

When I call the Artisanal Cheese Center a “day school” for cheese it barely scratches the surface of what we aim to accomplish in nurturing our cheeses. The critical first few hours and days of a cheese are almost always left to the cheese maker. After that the “finishing” is left up to the retailer who then sells it to the end-consumer. Perhaps a better analogy is to call our enterprise a “finishing school.”

To “elevate” a cheese is not rocket science. Some people who handle cheeses seem to have the knack. Under the tutelage of one of those experts a cheese can reach its optimal peak. Without those skills and talent a cheese can easily succumb to the catacombs.

Whether we care to admit it or not, affinage is practiced by a growing number of Americans. Along with the growing appreciation for cheese here, there is a greater need for this expertise. This is one reason the American Cheese Society has endorsed a certification effort for cheese handlers. By this time next year we expect there will be several individuals who have attained this certification. A big part of this will include knowledge of good cheese-handling practices.

Cheese is a living food, a near-perfect food, but it is also a perishable food. The affineur must include safe handling in their cheese studies. Fortunately cheese has some built-in qualities which make it a safe food, safer than most other foods.

For the person who said Portugal and Ireland were newcomers in the cheese world, they should be advised that cheese has been a food staple in both those regions for almost as long as it has been in Italy and Spain, since well before any of those countries were known by those names. What is now called France is as much a newcomer as is Portugal.

What is happening with affinage here in the US is encouraging. With these developments I expect artisan cheeses to taste better and better. Good affinage speaks for itself.

Max McCalman

For more information on Max or the Art of Affinage, please visit us at artisanalcheese.com

When planning a party that includes cheese the host must ask these questions: How many ounces per person? How many different cheeses? How much cheese to buy?

If other food is served three ounces of cheese per person should be sufficient. I recommend serving no fewer than three cheeses. If cheese is the main food you might increase that to 6 ounces total, and a minimum of 5 cheeses. I admit that I believe more is better yet a pretty good rule of thumb is to allow one pound each of the cheeses for every sixteen persons, about one ounce each. For the harder cheeses this is more than enough, for the softer cheeses or for the cheeses with thicker rinds that is about perfect.

Why the difference?

The softer cheeses have higher water content so people tend to eat bigger portions of those than they do of the firmer varieties. If the cheese has a thick rind that is not itself tasty you should factor that in. This applies to many aged and blue cheeses. Cheeses with rinds, wax coatings, leaf-wraps, and/or higher water contents should be scaled up a bit.

If you want to be a little more precise you might cut back a little on the harder cheeses, perhaps one pound for every twenty persons, and keep the others at about one pound for every sixteen. I have heard many people say “I can eat a ton of cheese.” I doubt that. Maybe a couple of tons in one’s lifetime is more realistic. If you consider that our per capita consumption in the U.S. is steadily rising to around 35 pounds each year, a ton of cheese should be easy enough. I sense that New Yorkers are doing their part to help raise that consumption.

Not to be gluttonous but to recognize cheese as a near-perfect food that enjoys a stellar track record for food safety, I believe we should all eat a little more of it, but only what I will call “real” cheese. On the other hand it is good to know that a little bit of cheese goes a long way, especially the harder cheeses. A cheese that costs over $30.00 per pound may seem high but one pound of a firm cheese can last for several days. I recently purchased a half pound of one of our new cheeses – the Stella Royale – and I expect that I will continue to nibble on it for several more days. A pound of this cheese is only $15.00!

We have some very soft and luxurious Quesos de la Serena in our caves now. I purchased an entire wheel of one yesterday. This one costs $21.50 per pound but it is worth every little dollop. I could not resist it; believe I ate nearly a pound of it last night! This cheese might be more appropriate for a special occasion with at least six people attending but when you see one this nice it should not be missed. The special occasion was having one in such marvelous form (as they usually are this time of year).

We usually serve the equivalent of about 6 ounces cheeses total in our classes here, which may not sound like much. Many people finish their entire selection but others opt to take a little home with them. This is after the opening receptions where several other cheeses and delicious fondue is served. Between the reception cheeses and those that are on the class plates, one could easily eat nearly a pound of find “real” cheeses in two hours. It can be done! Having all these outstanding cheeses within easy reach is one reason the New York per capita consumption is so high. Imagine a per capita consumption of 365 pounds each year! I am doing my part.

Everywhere you turn now people seem to be talking about pairing foods and beverages, especially the cheese and beverage pairings. This could be partly because we started digging into this study almost twenty years ago and now it seems like everyone’s doing it. Our pairings began with the focus on cheese and wine. The beer lovers hopped on the pairing bandwagon, then spirits aficionados, sakes cognoscenti, tea drinkers, coffee lovers, etc.

Cheese has been enjoyed with beers and wines for many centuries, the other ones are more recent studies. Yet Americans seem to have a near-obsession with the pairings, whatever the food and beverage, as though if we get it wrong we have made an egregious error. The pairing principles are good tools to use to master pairings but the variables are limitless, and we have to admit that it is a little subjective.

Our preferences for certain cheeses or wines (or other beverages) likely has a big say in our pairing assessments. For example, if we are particularly fond of Pinot Noir we might find more successful pairings with that grape than with a wine we avoid. The same goes for the cheeses. In our Cheese & Wine 101 class we dissect the pairings of several cheese types with a range of wines.

This “laboratory” is probably not the way most people experience cheeses and wines–by mixing them in the mouth and noting what happens as the mixture crosses the palate. It is normally a less formal or academic exercise, one that is more leisurely. We have a sip of wine then we have a nibble of cheese a little later. Most people do not consciously force the two together simultaneously. Even though the “forced” pairing is not taking place in these casual situations the results can be very much the same. If the cheese and wine were not good mates to begin with, they probably eventually leave a disappointing finish.

More often than not, cheeses and wines (or beers) do work well together. Again, we all have our personal preferences and sometimes the confluence of flavors and aromas between the cheeses and beverages can bring out new flavors and aromas which some of us may enjoy while others do not. Those aromatics are what “seals-the-deal” in pairings not just with cheese but with all foods.

The balancing relationships between cheeses and wines have several parallels: the “fruit” in the wine (or beer or other beverage) balances the salty or savory characteristics in the cheese. The saltier cheeses pair better with the fruitier wines, generally even better with the so-called “dessert” wines. Those wines with higher levels of residual sugar should be called “cheese” wines. When you already have sweet in your dessert why would you want to top it off with a little more sugar in the wine? One of the classic matches between a cheese and wine is the one between a salty Roquefort and a sweet Sauternes.

Another balancing act between cheeses and beverages is how they relate to overall “size” of flavor. The bigger flavored cheeses can annihilate a milder wine. It is usually better to have the cheese and wine find a matching fullness of flavor otherwise the cheese can change the wine into water, so to speak. The gentle wine may wash the big cheese down nicely but the subtleties in the wine may be lost.

We have found that the more acid cheeses generally work better with the more acid wines. All wines are more acid than all cheeses. If the cheeses had those low pH levels they would be intolerable. This is more a relationship of harmony than an actual see-saw balance. This is perhaps one reason why beers and cheeses can mate so well, the pH levels in beers are rarely as acid as those in wines.

Speaking of beers, the texture of each partner plays a not insignificant role. The effervescence in beers helps to lift up the butter fats and acids in cheeses so that they swirl around in the mouth like Balanchine. Wines have their textures too; it is not just “advantageous” sparkling wines and still wines. The mouth feel of still wines can be notably different. One varietal such as a Chardonnay has a round texture compared to a Sauvignon Blanc. This overall mouth feel is drawn from a number of qualities: acid, astringent (as those presented in tannic wines), trace minerals, barrel influence, and any effervescence.

Cheeses obviously have their own textures. Some are liquid like water while others are nearly as hard as granite. This is a relationship between cheeses and beverages that may be a little less important than others yet we have found that the firmer the cheese the better the mating with the beverage. This could be partly because the flavors in the cheese become more focused as they harden and age; the salts become more pronounced – those salts which play off the liquid partner so well, especially a liquid partner on the sweeter side. The softer cheeses often work best with the more effervescent beverages. The flavors in a younger softer cheese can be a bit scattered and unfocused compared to the harder cheeses. The bubbles provide a little texture to the duet.

Again, in more cases than not, cheeses and wines or other beverages do work well together. There are the occasional bad marriages but they are much less frequent than the successes. It should be noted that the hungrier and thirstier you are the more likely they pairings will be pleasing.

August is goat cheese month for a couple of reasons. Most goat cheeses are at their peaks when they are on the young side. If it is a relatively aged goat cheese (say around four months of age) the milk would have been drawn when the animals had some of the fresh vegetation that April brings, or if it is a younger cheese there should be a good diversity of plants available in July or August. Many dairy goats have wild berries and fresh herbs in their summer diets. The more food choices the animals have, the more flavorful the milk will be, which translates to a better cheese.

August, being one of the hottest months of the year, is a time when our cheese choices are for the lighter varieties, such as those younger goat cheeses. When the temperature creeps up into the nineties or higher we might skip the blues, the big-flavored or the stinky cheeses and choose those lighter creamier goat cheeses such as the Laurier instead. Even though most goat cheeses are still available in fine form later in the year, they are especially favored in August.

Our choices of wines or beers veer toward the lighter styles in August too. The Sauvignon Blancs (a varietal whose favorite cheeses are produced with goat milk) or the young Chardonnays that are fermented in stainless steel instead of oak, the floral Viogners and dry Albariños or Chenin Blancs; all these white wines and many others pair exceptionally well with the goat milk cheeses. These cheeses also blend in beautifully with our cool pilsners, wheat beers, and our summer ales.

When you follow the logic of the CheeseClockâ„¢ pairing tool this is precisely what is indicated, the lighter cheeses such as the younger milder goat cheeses pair best with the lighter wines and beers.

Max McCalman